Michigan

About 126,000 Michiganders who have selected plans on the health insurance marketplace have qualified for an estimated $328 million in premium tax credits, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
(HealthCare.gov screenshot)

LANSING — Michiganders who have selected plans on the health insurance marketplace have qualified for an estimated $328 million in premium tax credits, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Nearly 126,000 people, or 87 percent of Michiganders who selected plans as of March 1, were eligible for financial assistance through the Affordable Care Act. The Kaiser report estimates the tax credits are worth a total $328 million dollars, or an average of $2,610 per person.

"I wouldn't be surprised if those numbers go up quite a bit, because I know our navigators are being just really overwhelmed by the number of residents that are calling and stopping in and attending our enrollment events during this last week before the deadline," said Dizzy Warren, project manager for Enroll Michigan.

Consumers have four more days to sign up for coverage on the health insurance marketplace.

Nationally, an estimated 3.5 million people have qualified for a total of $10 billion in tax credits as of March 1, according to the Kaiser study released Thursday. The federal government had projected that 5 million people would receive tax credits this year.

While final enrollment figures aren't out, the White House on Thursday tweeted that more than 6 million Americans had signed up for plans. That's 1 million shy of the federal government's previous projection of 7 million, though it's on target with the most recent forecast of 6 million.

The so-called enrollment figures only count people who have selected plans, not those who have completed enrollment by paying their premiums.

Kaiser estimates about 29 percent of Michiganders who are eligible for subsidies had selected plans as of March 1. That's compared to 21 percent nationally, not counting three states that didn't have data. Michigan had the eighth-highest subsidy take-up rate, with Vermont topping the list at 50 percent.

The variance between states is likely based on enrollment outreach efforts as well as whether the state expanded Medicaid, said Kaiser Vice President Gary Claxton. Expanded Medicaid programs attract more applicants, who may end up being eligible for a regular plan with tax credits instead of Medicaid, he said.

Americans in certain income levels can apply for tax credits or subsidies to help offset the cost of plans purchased on the health care exchange that launches Oct. 1. The tax credits are sent to the insurance company so enrollees don't have to pay that money up front.

The tax credits are available to individuals and families with incomes between 100 and 400 percent of the poverty level. That amounts to up to $46,680 for an individual and up to $95,400 for a family of four in 2014.

But people who fall within these ranges still might not get the tax credit if their employer offers employee-only coverage that costs less than 9.5 percent of the employee's household income and if the plan covers at least 60 percent of the cost of covered benefits.

Michiganders could end up losing those tax credits depending on the result of a case before a federal appeals court.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette filed a brief in support of a lawsuit that argues states without their own health exchanges should not be eligible for tax credits or be subject to the individual mandate.